Britain's leading female golfer, Lottie Woad, is maximizing her preparation to capitalise on her recent LPGA-winning form ahead of this week's Women's US Open.
The 22-year-old Englishwoman arrives at the prestigious Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles following a victory at the Kroger Queen City event in Cincinnati last month.
That triumph propelled Woad to fifth in the world rankings, marking her first professional win in the United States since joining the paid ranks last summer after debuting with a Scottish Open victory.
Strategic Training Decision
Instead of resting, Woad opted to bypass last week's Shoprite LPGA tournament in New Jersey to focus on intensive training.
She flew her coach, Luke Bone, from Farnham, Surrey, to Tallahassee, Florida, to reset her game on the driving range before traveling early to the US west coast for acclimatization.
Woad explained her decision to work intensively ahead of the year's biggest major championship on the women's golf calendar.
"We were just doing some work here in Tallahassee," Woad told BBC Sport. "It was good, just kind of a little reset."
"The last time I saw him was Chevron [the year's first major in April] and he was at an event before that.
But it was kind of nice to do some work away from the tournament."
"He usually comes to the majors, but I decided I wanted to try him coming a week before.
I'm still kind of working out what I like best."
"You know, I'm still very new to pro life.
The US Open is a very hectic week and I feel like that you're limited to what you can actually get done on that week.
So it's nice to go into it having done a lot of the work."
Confidence from Recent Victory
Confidence for the upcoming major stems from her Ohio victory on May 17, which Woad unlocked by identifying a minor equipment issue herself.
After an uncharacteristically poor putting performance led to a missed cut at the Mizuho Americas Open earlier in May, she inspected her putter.
"My putting was pretty poor and I'd been putting pretty good this year," Woad said.
"OK, it could be me, it is probably is me, but, I thought I'll check the putter."
"The grip was just a tiny bit off, but obviously as golfers, we're pretty specific. So it was bugging me a little bit.
I got it regripped and then, yeah, all good."
The adjustments paid off in Cincinnati, where Woad secured a two-shot victory over South Korea's Haeran Ryu, finishing ahead of major winners Miyu Yamashita and Ruoning Yin.
The field also featured Nelly Korda and former world number one Lydia Ko, who tied for eighth place.
Woad noted that securing this second professional trophy carried immense personal significance.
"I think it was probably a more important win for me than the first one," Woad said.
"The first one [in Scotland last July] was obviously amazing, but it all happened so quickly."
"I had just turned pro right before that one and then went off and played loads of events.
I didn't really get time to reflect on it."
"I don't know how many events I've played now, but a lot more events, playing each week, travelling each week.
Seeing the competition, seeing how good everyone is."
"I think to win again, to get the second one was more important for me."
Despite her high world ranking, Woad will compete in the Women's US Open as a professional for the first time, though she holds a strong track record in majors.
As an amateur, Woad tied for third at the Evian Championship last July, finished joint-eighth at the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl, and tied for seventh at the Chevron.
The fast-paced nature of professional sports means Woad rarely dwells on her top-tier major tournament finishes.
"I kind of forgot," she smiled.
"They're so spread out, it's kind of hard to remember where you finished in the majors. But yeah, I've been playing pretty nicely in them."
"US Open, I'm assuming, is going to be set up tough like it always is. So Riviera, I've heard great things.
I'm just really excited to go see that course and, yeah, ready for the challenge that is US Open."
Woad is positioned as Britain's top prospect to mirror the historic national championship victories of Dame Laura Davies in 1987 and Alison Nicholas in 1997.
She aims to keep the Harton S Semple Trophy in European possession following Maja Stark's triumph at Erin Hills last year, while fellow British contender Charley Hull looks to bounce back after missing the cut in New Jersey.
Adjusting to life on the tour has been an enjoyable process for Woad, despite the extensive travel demands.
"I don't know, I mean, I love it," she said.
"It's pretty cool for me to play golf and it'd be my job, but obviously there's a lot of travel involved.
I think it's probably the worst bit."
"You know, we play a pretty rigorous schedule in the LPGA.
I've already been to Asia twice this year and I've been to the West Coast to do two different swings."
"I live in Florida.
So a lot of travel that maybe doesn't quite flow as well as it as it should, but I know they're working on that."
Currently based in Florida, Woad remains relaxed, confident, and pleased with Leeds United retaining their Premier League status.
While Chevron champion Nelly Korda remains the favorite for the Pacific Palisades event, Woad is content with a quieter approach.
"She's obviously going to be one of the favourites and always is at most events she plays," Woad said.
